Canada’s two big railways will have a $7.1 million Christmas present for the Western Grains Research Foundations following a ruling they exceeded their revenue caps in 2022-23.
In a decision handed down yesterday, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) exceeded its maximum grain revenue of entitlements in crop year 2022-23 by nearly $3.5 million. Its limit is $1.08 billion, the CTA said in a news release.
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway Company (CPKC) exceeded it’s revenue limit by almost $3.4 million. Its revenue is capped at $940.5 million.
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CN and CPKC have 30 days to pay the overage, plus a five per cent penalty.
By regulation, these payments go to the Western Grains Research Foundation, the news release added.
The railways moved some 60 per cent more grain this year than last year, with over 45.3 million tonnes freighted across the country. Last year, the trains moved 28.4 million tonnes.
The increase can mainly be attributed to recovery after the droughty 2021-22 season, CTA said.
In the last season, both railway firms also exceeded their revenue caps, chipping in $5.7 million to grain research.
Over the 2022-23 season, the bulk of grain moved went to Vancouver, with CN carrying a bit more than 15.1 million tonnes, and CPKC moving just over 15.4 million, according to the CTA’s written decision.
CN brought 4.8 million tonnes to Prince Rupert, just over 1.5 million to eastern Canada, totallying 24.2 million tonnes with an exchange switching adjustment.
CPKC brought 4.6 million tonnes to Thunder Bay, and nearly 861,000 tonnes to Eastern Canada with a total of 21.1 million tonnes moved, including the exchange switching adjustment.
—Geralyn Wichers is associate digital editor of AGCanada.com. She writes from southeastern Manitoba.
